Building Custom Themes
There are three paths to developing your own WordPress theme:
- Create everything from scratch
a. Build everything with no starting code.
b. Important considerations: Maximum flexibility and learning experience but time-consuming. - Build upon an established base
a. Begin with a flexible foundation and then shape it to your needs.
b. Important considerations: You inherit a reliable structure while still controlling the final features. More efficient path. - Choose a middle-road approach
a. Hybrid-approach using a starter theme and then making adjustments where you need something unique.
b. Important considerations: Good balance and quicker results than building everything yourself.
If I was to develop my own fully functional custom theme, I would select the second path – building upon an established base (e.g., by customizing the Astra theme). The Astra theme already provides a clean, lightweight solution. This will allow me to focus on the design and functionality without starting from nothing or managing a complex hybrid setup.
The following are commonly included/required files within a WordPress theme:
- style.css: holds the theme header and the CSS that defines the site’s visual style.
- index.php: WordPress uses this whenever it doesn’t find a more specific template for the content the user is viewing.
- functions.php: handles things like adding menus, sidebars, and extra features.
- header.php: the top section of every page. Includes the logo and navigation menu.
- footer.php: the bottom section of every page. Typically contains copyright information and links.
- sidebar.php: side area that holds extra content such as widgets or recent posts.